Tuesday, May 13, 2014

oh, RATS!

Chris and I were wanting to get Christian his first pet. We thought a puppy may be too much for him at his age, so we figured something smaller.

I had owned two pet rats a couple years back. My first response on the thought of having a rat as a pet was the same as most of you would think..."EEK!" and "Their tails freak me out!". It wasn't until I researched and actually held one of these little guys, that I learned what amazing pets they truly are.

What makes them so great? Well, Let me tell you!

For starters, Look at this face...

Second, These pets are easily trainable!

You can litter train them and they learn their names.

Have you ever heard about the rat who was

taught to play basketball?

Well here you are!

Think that's all? NOPE! Here's another video of tricks!

Think rats are dirty?

If the truth be known, rats probably clean and groom themselves more than a cat does with the added bonus of not suffering from hairballs. Rats do not spread rabies or other diseases either which means domesticate rats make perfectly safe pets to keep in a home environment. Although many people believe it was rats that carried the bubonic plague into London, this is not true because it was the fleas that passed the black death to the residents of the city back in 1665 and not the rats! Rats will also groom each other!

Rats are social animals, much like dogs!

So social, that intact, it is inhumane to have only one rat.

All owners who have done their research , know that you have to have at least TWO rats.

A rat left by himself, can become depressed and sick.

They need company to play and groom and cuddle up next to.

We have three!!

Rats are affectionate.

They crave attention.

They love to be held, pet and snuggled.

They will sit on your shoulder while you walk around.

Infact, Chris went to take out the trash today

and Jasper went with him!

Our little guys have such personalities.

Bruno is mine.

Jasper is Chris'.

Pinkerton is Christians.

Bruno loves to eat- Uhm hello, That's all I do!

Jasper sleeps allllll the time- Coincidence that

I can't seem to wake Chris up ever? (;

Pinkerton is always awake and michevious-

Dare I say more?

Things you must have if you decide to get pet rats:

A large cage! Rats LOVE to climb and have lots of room to play

A hideout- for napping!

Nesting material- they will grab stuff and make a nest in their hideout